The number of fines issued to parents for unauthorised school absence has rocketed to its highest level on record, resuming a trend seen before the pandemic.
Data published by the Department for Education today shows 398,796 penalty notices for unauthorised absence were issued in 2022-23. This is up from 218,235 last year and higher than the 333,388 in pre-pandemic 2018-19.
Today’s data shows the vast majority (89 per cent) of absence fines issued last year were for unauthorised family holiday absence, up slightly from 86 per cent before the pandemic.
The number of fines for this reason has increased from 288,239 in 2018-19 to 356,181 last year.
